The cables, such as insulated strands or solid conductors made of copper or steel, that are worked on the cable processing device are usually provided in drums, on reels or as bundles and are conveyed by means of a cable conveying device to the processing station. A cable processing device is disclosed in EP 1 447 888 A1, for example. EP 1 447 888 A1 discloses a cable processing device comprising a stripping unit and two crimping stations as processing stations. The cable is guided to the processing stations by means of a cable conveying device formed as a belt drive, said cable conveying device being configured as a cable feed for moving the cable along a machine longitudinal axis of the cable processing device.
When the cable supply, for example a cable reel, runs out, a new cable must be removed from a new cable reel and supplied to the processing stations. For cable preparation, it may also be necessary to work other cables, for example cables of another color. For this purpose, it is known to use a cable processing device comprising a cable changer. Cable changers for the selective supply of cables to the processing stations typically comprise two guide units for guiding and holding one cable each. Owing to the second guide unit, in which a second cable is guided and held, a more rapid cable change is possible. The second or additional guide unit makes it possible to prepare a second cable during operation or while the cable processing device is operating. This can prevent an interruption in production, for example due to an emptying cable drum, in that a new drum is provided and the corresponding cable is already accommodated in the second guide unit. The changeover time can be shortened and two different cables can be worked alternately as necessary. A cable changer of this kind has been disclosed in EP 1 879 199 A2, for example. In the case of this cable changer, the guide units are cylindrical. For the cable change, one rotational movement must be carried out, which leads to a complicated mechanical construction. The drum must be lowered together with the two guide units including a rotary bearing for the drum, in order to bring the cable into the operating region of the cable conveying device. A further disadvantage is that the cables may cross and touch each other.
A cable processing device comprising guide units that are also cylindrical has been disclosed in DE 41 05 631 A1. In order to change a cable to another, a selective rotational movement must be carried out, in which all of the guide units are rotated with each other.
A further cable processing device comprising a cable changer of the type mentioned at the outset is disclosed in EP 1 213 800 B1. This cable changer may accommodate a large number of cables that are optionally supplied, by means of the cable conveying device, to the processing stations in order for the cable ends to be processed. The cable changer comprises a plurality of guide units that are arranged linearly one above the other. The guide units are arranged in a vertical frame in this case. The frame can be moved up and down in the vertical direction. The cables arranged on top of each other in the cable changer may have different cross sections, colors, insulations and/or conductor properties. Depending on the cable to be worked, the frame is moved up or down until the relevant cable guide comprising the desired cable is in the correct position on the machine longitudinal axis in the cable conveying device. The cable processing device comprising this cable changer is characterized by high variability and the cable changer can be used in sequence processing and in particular for housing assembly; however, the machine is expensive and complex and leads to relatively high initial costs. In this system, it is also impossible or at least nearly impossible to introduce new cables into the cable changer during operation.